The Impact Of Rene Descartes Meditations On First Philosophy

Rene Descartes, a French philosopher and a mathematician, was born in 1596 and died in 1650 when Newton was seven. He is considered as the father of modern philosophy. Even till this day, his “Meditations on First Philosophy” continues as a standard document at most philosophy department. Descartes refused to believe in faith, and considered knowledge began with doubt. Rene Descartes often found himself to be mistaken about the knowledge that he formerly learn were true. As a result, he began doubting everything, and tried to seek the principle of philosophy that could not be doubted. To do so, he had to start from scratch, and only relying on his own reasoning ability. He realize that all of his previous thought came to him through senses. As a result, He refused to trust his own senses because he believed that senses could deceive us. At any moment, he thought he might be hallucinating, or his senses were deceived by demon or God. For example, “I am sitting here next to the fire, wearing my winter dressing gown, that I am holding this sheet of paper in my hands, and the like. But on what grounds could one deny that these hands and this entire body are mine?”(Meditation on First Philosophy, 533). Descartes
Materialism is a belief of physical things. However, the materialism does not deny mental phenomenon. Materialism require fewer things than dualism. Materialism has simpler explanation because we can explain everything in the world using nothing but physical things and properties. The materialist can explain the world more fruitfully than the dualist. Materialism uses neuroscience can determine how physical changes, electrical changes or chemical changes occur in the brain. Materialism can understand the structure of the mind. Moreover, there is no reason to draw a distinction between functions of mind and brain. Materialism thinks it is completely unnecessary to leave in mind. Every